Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1887-02-18


ment, bringing out the fact tha
one great evil from which our PEG
pie suffer results from the name
in which the flow of the Trucke,
river is manipulated by the lumbel
, merchants who have for years beer
communicating its waters. He
claimed that the sawdast was of it
self deleterious, but thought this
was not the worst side of the case
The sawdust. being swept INTO the
stream, formed in ridges in shallow
places, and in fact literally. lined
the banks from the point where the
mills are located to where the river
empties into Pyramid Lake. In
order to float their logs to their
mills, the milImen are every day or
two compelled to increase the flow
into the river. This is done by
opening the food gates of tie dam
where the river comes out of Lake
Tahoe. The result is that the saw
dust is carried up on the rocky
bars and boulders, where the re-
! ceding water leaves it to heat and
ferment in the suns rays, engen-
dering Shiny acid. which, at the
succeeding flooding of the river,
is taken into the river, to the injury
of the fish in said river and seri-
ously endangering the health of
the people who are dependent upon
the water of said river as source
of supply for domestic purposes.
In this connection he cited the cpl
demic which ragged in Reno last
season In Bishop Whitaker's School
for Girls, which has been brought
under his personal observation by
the fact that member of his fam
lily was one of the victims Every
citizen OF the State, he said, is in
terested in the question, because
several prominent public and pri-
yate institutions are located at
Reno.
Mr.. Aware Evans, of Reno, gave
his opinion upon the subject, as
did also Senator Osburn. They |
agreed with the speakers who pre-.
ceded them.
Mr.. Mason, editor of the Truckee
was the principal
speaker on behalf Of the sawmill I
proprietors. He denied that saw
dust was injurious to fish, and
stated that this question of injury
to the health of the people of Reno
was anew-oRe; that the people of
the Truckee basin had never heard
such thing before. He made as
good an argument as possible, con-
sidering the weakness of his case.
Mr.. n 8. Moody and COL Irons
with Mr.. Mason
Mr.. Richardson, the only practi-
cal millman present, testified that
be did not think sawdust injurious
to fish, but said if it were true that
The health of any of the citizens of
Nevada was In any way impaired
by the sawdust, it would certainly
be the duty of the mill owners to
Keep the sawdust out of the river
Upon some it weald work serious
hardship, but as for himself, he
would close down his mill and go
nto some other business rather
han to do anything which would
,ndanger the health or life of any
luman being. He was not vet con-
7inced, however, that the sawdust
lad been the cause of the epidemic
q Reno. He believed there had
,een as much sickness in Carson
md other places as in Reno. He
aid the product of the sawmills on
he Truckee river is about forty
million feet a year, oneslxth of
which goes into the river in the
iape of sawdust. The cost of pre-
'aring furnaces for burning this
awdust would, in his opinion, be
n the neighborhood of $4,000 or
Is, COO fer each mill.
As the question was raised as to c
7hether or not the. sawdust t
n the river had caused the cpl t
emic, the members of the Califor- c
la Committee expressed a desire f
0 take the testimony of experts a
pom that matter, and asked if it s
'ould be possible to call any of the
physicians of Reno be- +
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